Mary Kay Magistad

Mary Kay Magistad

Mary Kay Magistad has been The World's Beijing-based East Asia correspondent since 2002, focusing especially on a rapidly changing China and the impact of China's rise on the region and the world.

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Why Chinese Political Humor is Spreading Online

January 10, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
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Hexiefarm cartoon (Photo courtesy of Hexiefarm)

Hexiefarm cartoon (Photo courtesy of Hexiefarm)

A funny thing happened on the way to China going online — well, maybe not funny, so much as inevitable. With some 500 million Chinese now online, news spreads fast; jokes spread faster; and good jokes at the expense of bad governance go viral.

“When the situation is getting tougher, the humor is getting stronger. That has been always the case,” said Xiao Qiang, who runs China Digital Times, a website that follows news and web trends in China. He said in this past year, as Chinese authorities have tried to step up control in the wake of pro-democracy revolutions in the Middle East and Northern Africa, China’s online humor has, if anything, gotten sharper.

“Because especially when it comes to political and social matters, where there’s always a sense of repression there, speaking truth to power requires a lot of courage, and there’s risk involved,” Xiao said. “But humor can smooth that out.”

When two high-speed trains collided last summer, a former journalist named Liu Dongdong took a Chinese rock classic and rewrote the lyrics to create a satirical critique of government mismanagement – of the hi-speed train project, and of the accident.

The song quickly got millions of hits.

“These days in China, people are under a lot of pressure, and sometimes they feel helpless,” said Liu Dongdong. “I hope doing these songs helps relieve some of that pressure – and maybe even gets a little attention from the authorities so they do something about the problems.”

Figuring out what you can say online, and when, is a little like surfing, according to Liu – you catch a wave and ride it in while you can. You get your spoof out before the authorities realize what it is and take it down.

Another satirist who knows that drill goes by the name Crazy Crab. I asked if the authorities know his real name.

“I’m wondering that myself,” Crazy Crab said. “If they don’t know, I’m sure they’re trying to find out.”

Crazy Crab does an online cartoon inspired by George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” His is called Hexie Farm. Hexie can mean crab, or harmony. The Communist Party’s stated desire is for a “harmonious society” – that is, one without challenge to its rule. Hexie Farm is run by a Party, too, which is trying to usher in a “great, glorious and correct” era of harmony. Crazy Crab considers it a badge of honor that Hexie Farm is now a blocked search term in China. He said China’s leaders don’t really have a sense of humor.

“If they do, I can’t see it,” he said. “Their humor is unintentional; it comes from the absurd contrast between what they say and what they do.”

Xiao Qiang of China Digital Times agrees that the system doesn’t really breed leaders with a sense of humor, or even an individual sense of style. And yet, those leaders ignore political humor at their peril, especially from China’s younger generation. Xiao said they expect more from their leaders.

“They want more freedom, and humor, in the basic sense, is to carry a message,” Xiao said. “That message, in the political humor, is no less than demanding a freer society, a more equal and just society, and pointing to the fact that the power in China today is unaccountable to its own people.”

Yet many of those coming up with snarky satire don’t really believe the system is going to change anytime soon.

Chuanzi (Photo: Mary Kay Magistad)

Chuanzi (Photo: Mary Kay Magistad)

Chuanzi is a folksinger, who has written songs about how out of reach the middle-class dream is for many of China’s middle-class.

“I make fun of the difficulties we face in life. We can try to change our lives, but we can’t change the system,” Chuanzi said.

When I asked if he really believes that, he responded, “Well, I’m too small and weak. But if we stick together, musicians and other artists, maybe we can make some change to society.”

Chuanzi’s agent, who was sitting nearby, didn’t like the direction this interview was taking. Artists like Ai Weiwei got arrested for using humor to push for social and political change – although, much more aggressively and persistently than Chuanzi is doing here. The agent cut off the interview, and told me if I want to interview Chuanzi again, I’ll have to submit questions in advance– just like applying to talk to a Chinese government official.

A good satirist could have a field day with this.

Discussion

2 comments for “Why Chinese Political Humor is Spreading Online”

  • Anonymous

    When American radio reporter Mary Kay Magistad recently reported on howthe rise of online political humor in China is helping to spreadsubversive messages through parody and satire, sheexplained an important way that Chinese netizens can copy whathappened in the old Soviet Union when ”the walls came tumbling down.”As more and more Russians in the1970s and 1980s heard the call of freedom and democracy, humor in theUSSR grew by leaps and bounds — and served an important purpose ingiving the masses a wayto both release stress and express their yearnings for apost-Communist future. And this was long before the internet everexisted.
    Now the same thing is happening in China, but aided and abetted by the internet,according to Magistad, who reports for the World, an online radio showsponsored by PublicRadio International.

  • Anonymous

    Spreading subversive messages with humor

    By Dan Bloom  / 
    Sun, Jan 15, 2012 – Page 8

    When US radio reporter Mary Kay Magistad recently reported on how the rise of online political humor in China is helping spread subversive messages through parody and satire, she explained an important way Chinese netizens could copy what happened in the Soviet Union when “the walls came tumbling down.” As more and more Russians in the 1970s and 1980s heard the call of freedom and democracy, humor in the USSR grew by leaps and bounds — and served an important purpose in giving the masses a way to both release stress and express their yearnings for a post-communist future. And this was long before the Internet ever existed.Now, the same thing is happening in China, but aided and abetted by the Internet, according to Magistad, who reports for The World, an online radio show sponsored by Public Radio International.“When the situation is getting tougher, the humor is getting stronger. That has always been the case,” Xiao Qiang (蕭強), who runs China Digital Times, a Web site that follows news and Web trends in China, told Magistad.He said that as Chinese authorities tried to step up control in the wake of pro–democracy revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa last year, China’s online humor had, if anything, gotten sharper.“Because especially when it comes to political and social matters, where there’s always a sense of repression there, speaking truth to power requires a lot of courage, and there’s risk involved,” Xiao told Magistad. “But humor can smooth that out.”Examples abound: When two high-speed trains collided last summer, killing dozens and creating headlines worldwide, a former journalist named Liu Dongdong (劉咚咚) took a classic Chinese rock song and rewrote the lyrics to create a satirical critique of government mismanagement — of both the high-speed train project and of the tragic accident. The song, according to Liu, got millions of hits online.“These days in China, people are under a lot of pressure and sometimes they feel helpless,” Liu told Magistad. “I hope doing these songs helps relieve some of that pressure — and maybe even gets a little attention from the authorities so they do something about the problems.”Magistad also interviewed a Chinese satirical singer named Chuanzi (川子) and said she found the singer’s behavior, often at the behest of his professional handlers, to be incongruous with his sharp and witty work.“I’m poking fun at the difficulties in our life, the difficulties we need to face,” he told her. “By poking fun, we gain a certain amount of momentum or a certain amount of power to change our lives; but the system, I don’t think we can change. I think I’m a very small potato. I think I’m too weak by myself to change things, but if we stick together — we artists — it’s possible to change society, and even the system, and to push it forward.”Here comes trouble? Yes, and Chuanzi’s agent became a bit agitated, Magistad reported, saying the manager took her mobile phone and walked out of the restaurant to make a call. She came back and pulled Chuanzi aside and spoke to him. Guess what?When he rejoined the interview, Magistad reported: “It was like a politically correct clone had taken his place. I asked what needed to change in the system to bring about the social change he desired.”“I think this is a question for the State Council and the National People’s Congress to resolve,” he told Magistad in a new tone of voice, with the invisible government straitjacket firmly in place all of a sudden. “We ordinary people have no right to speak on this.”What happened to the Soviet Union is being mirrored today in China and while everyone said the USSR could never collapse, it did. And there’s a lesson here for China, too.Dan Bloom is a writer based in Chiayi.

    Published on Taipei Times :http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2012/01/15/2003523243Copyright © 1999-2012 The Taipei Times. All rights reserved.